What's your favourite Asturian final mountain for next Vuelta?

[Asturiano]

What is that thing?

Edit: I see someone had the same idea, just in time.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Why should they go again to Asturias??

Catalunya has some cool climbs which the Vuelta has never visited, why going every year over the same climbs??

They could do an stage starting in Barcelona with the finish here:

Or something like this with a descend finish:

Not all of the descent from the Coll de Pal is paved. That route looks like they ride to Pal from Bagá and then back down the same way anyway.

Personally if I was going to do the Coll de Pal I would do it after doing Pradell from the other side, preferably via Coll de Fumanyà, which keeps most of the toughest parts of Pradell whilst adding a much tougher first half of the climb than the Vallcebre side, in that it's about 11 and a half kilometres at 8%, then a bit of a descent, then 3,5km at over 10%:

It would end up cresting around 50km from the finish, however, with 25km of descent including a short false flat before Bagá and the final 20km climb. Nevertheless it's of enough difficulty that it would shred the field and I can't imagine there'd be too many domestiques remaining.

Something like this could work:

That's Andorra la Vella - Coll de Pal, so allowing for the not at all uncommon Andorra stage, which here would probably have to be accessed from southwest (and I beg for Arinsal or Els Cortals). Climbs are Coll de Trava (16,9km @ 4,8%, cat.1), Coll de Port (10,0km @ 5,4%, cat.2 probably? Maybe cat.1 with the odd Unipublic categorisations), Alt del Capolat (6,9km @ 4,8%, cat.3), Fumanyà-Pradell (either split into Coll de Fumanyà (11,5km @ 7,9%, cat.1) and Coll de Pradell (3,3km @ 11,0%, cat.2) or combined together into Fumanyà-Coll de Pradell (17,1km @ 6,3%, ESP cat), then the MTF at Coll de Pal (19,3km @ 6,6%, ESP cat).

With a small amount of road building, they could have the pass of Rasos de Peguera as per this brutal fantasy stage, adding in the climb to the ski station Rasos de Peguera which at 16,5km @ 7,4% could be another viable ESP. In addition to this, the descent takes us through via Fumanyà, so they could back it directly into Pradell, or descend via Fumanyà then climb the Vallcebre side of Pradell. That fantasy stage descends through Fumanyà, then after a cat.2 climb on a loop around Sant Isidre, it then climbs back up where it previously descended, an uncommon route design point. This is all but a pipe dream however, so long as the first few kilometres of descent from Rasos de Peguera are unusable.

 

[Red Rick]

I've seen that profile before, the actual road looks even more savage

 

[Red Rick]

That's the badass brother of Peyragudes

 

[Red Rick]

Asturiano, do you know what the max % of Laguna della Sobia is and wether there is room at the top? The way the Vuelta is developing they will immediately race it once they discover it if you can finish on two wheels instead of walking and if there's room at the top

 

[The Hitch]

umm, even i would say to that - too much

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I'm amazed Guillén hasn't had a HTF at Aia on the two trips to Euskadi recently.

In the future, however, he may unleash this:

muchmuchdeath

 

[Zam_Olyas]

I'm amazed Guillén hasn't had a HTF at Aia on the two trips to Euskadi recently.

In the future, however, he may unleash this:

muchmuchdeath

I like it..now we are talking about killing mofos (riders)

 

[Red Rick]

I'm amazed Guillén hasn't had a HTF at Aia on the two trips to Euskadi recently.

In the future, however, he may unleash this:

muchmuchdeath

Stybar for the win, he'll run over these steep sections carrying his bike

 

[Asturiano]

Asturiano, do you know what the max % of Laguna della Sobia is and wether there is room at the top? The way the Vuelta is developing they will immediately race it once they discover it if you can finish on two wheels instead of walking and if there's room at the top

Well, you can watch the mountain here. Take into account this website is dated (2008). The road was already asphalted:

http://blog.argayu.com/2008/07/22/laguna-de-la-sobia

 

[Liquigas]

With a small amount of road building, they could have the pass of Rasos de Peguera as per this brutal fantasy stage, adding in the climb to the ski station Rasos de Peguera which at 16,5km @ 7,4% could be another viable ESP. In addition to this, the descent takes us through via Fumanyà, so they could back it directly into Pradell, or descend via Fumanyà then climb the Vallcebre side of Pradell. That fantasy stage descends through Fumanyà, then after a cat.2 climb on a loop around Sant Isidre, it then climbs back up where it previously descended, an uncommon route design point. This is all but a pipe dream however, so long as the first few kilometres of descent from Rasos de Peguera are unusable.

Now this would be a proper mountain stage.

 

[Socidew321]

There is no doubt that Cerler and Valdezcaray will also host finishes for a similar event.